Giants Pick Syracuse OT Justin Pugh In First Round

April 25, 2013

New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese has a reputation for using the "best available" approach to stockpile his roster with talent that falls into his lap on draft day. There's no telling exactly where the Giants had Syracuse offensive lineman Justin Pugh on their final draft board, but Reese addressed a major need by snapping up Pugh with the 19th overall pick Thursday night.

A three-year starter at Syracuse, Pugh protected the blind side of quarterback Ryan Nassib. At 6-feet-5 and 307 pounds, Pugh has excellent size for offensive tackle, but his relatively short arms (32 inches) has many scouts projecting him as a better fit inside at guard -- or even center -- in the NFL.

Wherever the Giants ultimately determine he is the best fit, Pugh will fill a significant need. They entered the draft extremely thin at offensive tackle, with James Brewer expected to compete for the starting job on the right side but depth extremely thin. David Diehl is close to the end of his career, and behind him is a group of young players with zero NFL regular-season games on their resumes.

At guard, the Giants brought Kevin Boothe back on a one-year deal but he will be an unrestricted free agent after next season, while right guard Chris Snee will be entering his contract's option year. The Giants have Brandon Mosley, last year's fourth-round draft pick, waiting in the wings, but a season-ending ankle injury likely puts him behind in his development, while Jim Cordle has been more of a swingman at the position.

Reese still has seven more draft picks entering the second two days of the draft. The Giants need more offensive line help, and are also expected to be in the market for pass rushers and inside linebackers.

Reese said before the draft that forming the 2013 roster will continue throughout the summer and into training camp.

"There are a lot of times that guys will be cut from other teams before the season," Reese said. "Our team might not be ready to go until the week before we open up and play."

In an ideal scenario, draft picks would start to show some forward progress by the end of their first season so that a team could make a decision on whether to ease him into a bigger role or continue to bring him along.

However, Reese noted that teams no longer have the luxury of letting picks take their time to develop.

"The day and age of bringing your draft picks in and just sitting them for a year or two are dwindling away," he acknowledged. "I think you have to look to develop guys (quickly) and quite frankly most guys aren't ready to come in and you sometimes have to force them in there."